Let the children come to me. 

In Jesus’ day, as in our own, some people were valued far more than others.   Religious leaders and people from wealthy families were highly respected.   Far lower down came laborers like fishermen, lower still women of any class, and, at the very bottom, children.   So it’s not surprising that Jesus’ disciples shooed away the children who approached him.

But Jesus would have none of this.   He valued the children and made it clear to the disciples that the kingdom of heaven belonged “to such as these”.

Today children may be more highly valued, but there are two glaring exceptions:  children who are yet to be born and children with disabilities.   They belong in the same low status as people near the end of their lives, people suffering with dementia, people regarded as foreigners, and people who lack homes, skills, or resources.

This devaluing goes right against the way of Jesus.   He values every individual he creates.   He treasures them and always has time for them.   He did this during his ministry when he touched lepers, broke bread with prostitutes, and spoke tenderly to a woman accused of infidelity.

Jesus didn’t stop showing care for the needy when he ascended into heaven.   He continues to do it every day through his people.   Through missionaries to poor nations, through religious brothers and sisters who live among the inner-city poor, and through every person who ventures into a nursing home or inside prison walls—through all these ways and more, he continues to shower his love on the poor and the outcast.

What do your gestures reveal?   Are you more like the welcoming Jesus, or more like the class-conscious disciples?   The next time you encounter a person who is different than you, don’t just pass him or her by.   Say hello.   Take time to learn that person’s name.   Look that person in the eye, and wait patiently to allow him to tell his story.   Who knows?   Perhaps there is a way you can lend a hand.

Jesus treasures each person.   As he let the children come near to him, you can let people come close to you.

Word Among Us